The verdict is up in the air whether Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard will be traded during this week’s draft. And according to The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis, if a team wants Greenard, it will take a middle- to high-end 2nd-Round pick to get the deal across the finish line.
The Vikings could also just keep Greenard rather than create an OLB roster need, but that depends on his contractual asking price.
Lewis: Expect a Pick around No. 49 if Greenard Is Traded
Lewis mentioned Greenard’s trade value on his podcast this week, just days before the draft. He said, “If a team were to try to call and get a Jonathan Greenard deal done, at some point, I would expect the pick to come, like, around that 49 range.”
“That would be a range where it would start to make sense to me. Anything worse than that, I’d say worse than, like 60, you start to have a lot of questions about whether the Vikings would even listen to that as an idea.”
And for curious minds, unrelated to Greenard, Lewis expects the Vikings to draft Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in Round 1 on Thursday, a curveball theory that has gained steam in the last 72 hours.
Pretend for a moment that Lewis is onto something, and Minnesota executes a deal in the Pick No. 49 range. That would implicate these likely trade partners:
If the goal is to trade Greenard — no one is too sure whether the Vikings actually want to do that — Lewis’s theory aligns with the proper suitors. The Eagles and Colts have been linked to Greenard ad nauseam in the trade rumor mill. The Chiefs, Dolphins, and Panthers really, really need pass-rushing help.
Suppose the mission is to trade to Greenard to a team in this Round 2 range. It shouldn’t be too difficult, considering the teams in the bunch.
Daily Norseman‘s Christopher Gates noted on a Greenard trade, “Greenard’s cap number for the coming season, according to Over the Cap, is $22.15 million. If the Vikings did agree to a Draft Weekend deal, they would save $12.25 million against the cap while having to eat a dead money hit of $9.9 million.”
“If they did trade him away, they would almost certainly have to use one of their picks in the first two days on a player to try to replace him, one would think.”
So, what would the Vikings do with the 49th pick? They’d go shopping. The rookie list at that spot might look like this:
It’s worth noting that if Minnesota trades Greenard, it may turn around and need an EDGE rusher — like Howell, Jacas, Thomas, or Young.
Greenard is due for a significant contract — one way or another. The $19 million figure for 2026 is clearly outdated, making it highly improbable he will play under that contract. The market is positioning him for a new deal, likely in the $30-35 million range annually, with the Vikings, Eagles, or another team. The trajectory underscores his perceived value.
Should such a deal materialize, the pressure will be on Greenard to justify it, beginning with significantly increased sack production, well beyond his 3-sack total in 2025. Approaching 29 in five weeks, he remains well-positioned for another lucrative contract, even if this next agreement proves to be the final massive one of his career.
Most Vikings fans understandably wish to retain him. Elite pass rushers of Greenard’s caliber are rare. However, a sufficiently compelling trade offer could swiftly alter those sentiments.
The Vikings’ defense ranks third leaguewide in 2025 per EPA/Play and DVOA.